


Where Your Loyalty Lies - Oneshot

by YukiYashaH



Series: Where Your Loyalty Lies [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fights, Gen, not so much to the point of putting warnings though so be ready but not so ready, there's gonna be some blood so be ready, xander please hold me tight and never let me go-- did i say this out loud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 07:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8319211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukiYashaH/pseuds/YukiYashaH
Summary: The one shot that gave birth to the idea of the multichapter "Where Your Loyalty Lies" in which Kamui's kidnapping didn't go as planned -- she managed to get away and ended up at Silas' doorstep. They were raised as siblings, but she has always felt different; her fangs and red eyes and urges to run amok, what did they all mean? Is going to the castle as the Crown Prince's retainer help her find more clues? Will the war between Nohr and Hoshido be the answer to everything?





	

**Author's Note:**

> The original post can be found on my blog at the link http://yukiwrites.tumblr.com/post/151888295042  
> Comments are always appreciated! Since I don't have a beta and english is my second language, expect some typos here and there (and I'd appreciate if you guys commented pointing them out -- I try the best I can to comb out any spelling mistakes, but we all know there's always this or that thing that's overlooked, right), but please don't give up on me!

There were some nights Kamui managed to sleep at peace. Dreamless nights or nights filled with warm and sweet memories – memories long since forgotten, but their impact still lay strong until this day.

Memories of warm embraces and joyful playing; as a child, she had four other playmates, mayhap her siblings? She couldn’t say, it’s been too long.

Ah, how she wished tonight was one of those nights.

No, that night she dreamed of that dreadful day. Of fire, arrows, beatings and hiss of shurikens right past her ears. Of blurs and fights.

 

_“I’ll make it up to you, Lady Kamui! Please find it in your heart to forgive me!” She heard a juvenile voice apologize over and over, under her tired body. She had lost so much blood by gettig caught up in the fight, she could barely keep her eyes open. “I will not let them take you!” The voice sounded, much too young for the adult words leaving its mouth._

_She opened her mouth to speak, a foreign name leaving her lips. What… was it again? She remembered so vividly when she was younger, but now… She could only remember her lips moving without any sound leaving her throat._

_An explosion beside them startled the consciousness out of her body, her last thoughts of a man’s back beset by a volley of arrows._

“Father!!” Kamui sat on the bed, breathing heavily, her eyes as wide as they could get; her hand reaching out for something in front of her. Still under the atmosphere of the dream, she felt her hands shaking as she brought them to her face. “Another dream about that day…” She tried to breathe in, her heart thumping wildly inside her chest, her voice shaking. “At each passing day I find myself forgetting more… is any of that even real? Or not…?”

Kamui contemplated her trembling hands under the moonlight which shone through the window, her breathing finally calming down. She allowed herself to frown. “But I wonder why ‘father’ of all things? I don’t remember ever saying that after this dream.” She brought her hands to her face once again, squishing it the best she could. The more she tried to remember, the foggiest her memory got, so she was already used to not forcing herself to remember.

Instead, she found herself wide awake and unwilling to go back to sleep. She looked at the wooden clock placed by the wall opposite of her bed; it was the third hour after midnight, a mere one hour and a half earlier than what she was used waking up to.

Her heart still hasn’t calmed down and she gulped, her throat dry and hands cold, a sudden itch moving its way around her body, starting from her lumbar. “It HAS been a while since I last scratched this itch, after all. Maybe that’s what triggered the dream.” She whispered to herself, a bad habit she was mildly aware of, but not completely conscious of its seriousness.

She threw the covers to the side and stepped out of her bed with a jump, her reflection on the adjacent mirror catching her attention. Her eyes shone in a deep red, almost as liquid fire. A bitter smile ran across her face. “Yes, the itch.” Her voice sounded hoarse as she grimaced at herself looking away seconds later from the mirror towards the window.

It was twice as tall as her, and the windowsill was wide enough to allow her to lie on her back with her feet on the floor with ease. Though she was not going to lay on it. She climbed the windowsill and opened the lock, a gush of air immediately unraveling her hair and night gown.

The Lantanoir property consisted of the manor she slept in as well as the servants’ home and an extensive patch of woods. It went on and on beyond the borders towards a mountain; atop of it, the capital Windmire could be seen in the distance.

That was Kamui’s goal: mountain. Without hesitation, she jumped from the third floor her room was located at, and disappeared into the night.

 

A hurried knock brought Silas out of his sleep into a groggy wake. “My lord, forgive me the early hour, however–” A maid opened the door and whispered close to her lord’s bed. “Lady Kamui isn’t in her room, my lord. As instructed, I’ve come to you once more.”

Silas jumped on the bed, wide awake. He had instructed Kamui’s personal servants to report to him first if she wasn’t in her room by the time they went to wake her up – he wouldn’t want to worry his parents, after all. He blinked and shook his head to shoo away any drowsiness. “Thank you, Clara. Has she been gone for long?”

The maid bowed. “I couldn’t say, milord. It is the usual time she asks me to wake her, however her bed was cold and her window was wide open.”

“I see.” _She should be back soon, then_. He thought, getting up. “Prepare our gear and leave it at the training hall, please. I’ll be there soon.”

“At once, my lord.” Clara bowed and soundlessly left the room, leaving Silas alone with his thoughts.

Kamui had started having those fits three years after she was brought into the family. She had finally accepted them as her family, but one day she simply disappeared into the woods, leaving her shoes behind.

Still a child at the time, Silas ventured into the woods in search of his sister, worried about her wellbeing. What he found, however, defied every notion of how should a young girl – nay, a human being behave. Her eyes shone in a deeper red than usual, her fangs overgrown as well as her claws. She effortlessly jumped from the ground to the trees, running across the woods like a beast; on all fours and a growl leaving her throat.

She kept that up for the entire night until she collapsed on the ground, exhausted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Why is this happening to me?” She had cried, her voice stretched out due to the fatigue. “I-I’m sorry, big brother… mother, father… I’m sorry…” She hadn’t noticed young Silas hidden behind a tree and gave in to exhaustion before he could make himself seen.

Shaking, the young boy ran towards his sister and hugged her tired body. “I’ll protect you, Kamui! From everything! Like… like he did.” He had whispered, remembering the boy who gave his life to protect Kamui’s in the past.

Once she woke up, she found herself surrounded by her family at the exact time Silas explained how she got lost in the woods trying to look for a flower she saw in a book – one that only bloomed at midnight. Later that day, brother and sister would vow to keep secret until they found out the reason for those fits. Kamui confessed that that wasn’t the first time it had happened and was scared to be chastised for being different; even more so than she appeared.

“You’re my dear sister, Kamui.” Young Silas said, holding the girl’s hand on his. “I won’t ever chastise you from being what you are.” He squeezed the hold, seeing her red eyes water with tears. “We’ll find out the reason for that together!”

 

Silas smiled with the flashback, remembering how strongly Kamui hugged him afterwards. They never hid anything from each other ever since then; and sometimes Silas accompanied her during one of those fits, or ‘itches’ as she’d liked to call them. After puberty, they were surprised to find out that sometimes horns and scales would spring up on her body during those itches, however they went away after she was considerably tired. It was then that she decided that she would tire herself constantly, everyday, in order to hide that metamorphosis from the world – she would train to become a soldier.

“Ah, Kamui!” Silas waved, seeing his sister’s silhouette far into the woods by the door to the training hall. He saw as she waved back and sprinted towards him.

Their parents hadn’t condemned her decision per se – due to her noble background, she would start into a position of privileged knighthood – but they were reluctant in acknowledging her choice, their reason shrouded in excuses and nervous glances.

“Big Brother!” Kamui panted, reaching Silas with a wide smile, her night gown ruined and dirty; her breathing rasped and tired. “How do you always know where to find me?” She joked, bending over to catch her breath.

Silas sneered to hide the flush on his cheeks – her nightdress was tore in pieces, revealing most of her body. “We vowed, remember?” He extended a set of training clothes to her. “Now, go change, we still have to burn the rest of your energy with our morning drills!”

Kamui wiped the waterfall of sweat by her forehead with the back of her hand, her breathing finally evening. She took the clothes with a wide smile, her fangs an adorable addition to the look. “Thanks, Brother. I’ll be back right away!” She ran towards the changing room, leaving Silas alone with his conflicting feelings.

His shoulders sagged, the light of dawn making a shadow run through his body towards the floor. He gripped at his training sword, once again vowing to himself to always stay by her.

Once she came back, but before they could start the spar, he raised his sword in question. “Are you really sure about that, Sister?” His voice sounded serious.

Ah, he wanted to talk her out of going to the tournament. She smirked. “Are you afraid to lose to your cute little sister, Brother? Your technique is better, but I’m stronger!” She finished the sentence with a yell, closing in the distance between them with a jump, starting the match while she thought he was distracted.

Silas deflected her blow with his sword and aimed a kick at her stomach to push her back; she blocked it with her hands crossed, still being pushed back a few feet, the distance between them shortened, but not entirely.

He swung his sword in defiance, his expression serious. “The Pit isn’t a place to be taking lightly, Kamui; you know that. They say that the Crown Prince himself relishes on watching potential soldiers in that bloodbath.”

Kamui took his taunt and jumped forward once again, thrusting her sword from his vulnerable side. He barely managed to twist his wrist in order to block her blow, but her kick on his face went unnoticed. She laughed. “You and I both know that this is just what the nobles say to make The Pit sound like a den of barbarians. His Highness Xander himself oversees everything and makes sure that this,” she threw her wooden sword up, watching it twirl before catching it back, “is the only kind of weapon used in there.”

Silas had fallen on the floor due to her kick, and still massaged his cheek during her speech. She approached and extended her hand to him. Sulking, he took it, a pout visible on his face. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” He groaned. The score was now 21 x 22 to Kamui, and that was only that month! Sometimes they liked to spar more than once per day.

She laughed once again. “Tomorrow on the arena? I can’t wait.”

 

The Pit was just as its name suggested: An underground arena whose intent was to determine the strongest fighter for the season; a season lasted three months at most. Nobles and commoners alike huddled to watch the show, and usually there were no defending winners for the strongest fighter almost always was granted a high-ranking position as a soldier or as a guard. For the past few years, after she came to an agreement with her parents of not introducing her to court during her coming of age ceremony at eighteen, she had been taking notes about The Pit and its patrons. She knew that the Crown Prince came at set intervals to see that everything was going according his orders and that he would be there on her debut.

In a sense, her coming of age ceremony would be the awarding ceremony at The Pit, she thought with a bitter smile from the dressing room, getting her gear ready for another match. She had prevailed through five fights, and that was only during the morning. Yet, she saw no sign of the prince.

“Did my calculations go wrong?” She thought out loud, a frown painted in her face as she got into position by the gate, the deafening roar of the audience outside muffling her voice into a whisper.

Once again did the gates open and she looked up to the round arena around her; a hooded man catching her attention at the uppermost level.

No, there were two men, but they were similar in build.

“Hey, hey! We’re not allowed to kill here, but you’ll tell me how you got those cute ears, right?” A childlike voice brought Kamui back to reality and she focused on her next opponent: A twin-tailed young woman. Kamui raised a brow at her impossible hair color: It was a gradient mix going from blue to pink, and half of her face was covered by her bangs.

Kamui got in position, twirling her sword to her dominant hand. Her opponent used a wooden spear, making her devise a strategy on the spot – spears were one of Kamui’s preferred weapon of choice, after all. “I was born with them.” She said curtly.

The girl hopped on her feet, a wide smile on her face. “They’re soooo cute! You wouldn’t mind if Peri ripped them off, right? You’ll still be able to hear and won’t die, I swear!” She swung her spear abruptly, the smile never leaving her face.

Kamui jumped back and threw the sword to her left hand. She bended over, flexing her legs with the intent of jumping. Peri twirled her lance with both hands around herself, stepping towards Kamui, covering all sides in an astounding speed.

Before Kamui could react, Peri jumped and aimed the tip of the spear on her pointy ears; which she barely managed to dodge, jumping sideways. She felt a sting of pain as a small wound covered her cheek. “My guard was down.” She whispered, wiping the blood off with the back of her hand.

“Awww, I missed! Stay still!” Peri wailed, then screamed, running towards Kamui once again, raising her spear to deal a blow from the left. Kamui jumped over Peri’s head, twirling mid air to land while looking at her back. “Stay… Still!!” Peri yelled before turning back, but Kamui had already thrown her wooden sword in her direction, which she reflexively deflected with her spear. Peri’s head tilted in confusion. “Are you giving up? Why did you throw your weapon, silly?!” She laughed, running towards Kamui with the tip of her lance ready.

Kamui sneered and jumped once again, this time using the lance as a step before doing a somersault and landing behind Peri once again. The blue-haired woman lost her balance and tripped, falling headfirst; which prompted Kamui to swiftly take her lance and twirl it in her hands.

“Oh no, I’m just getting started.” She laughed, kicking her wooden sword towards Peri whose rage was displayed on her reddening face.

“That… HURT!” Peri yelled, running to Kamui, getting the sword off of the floor while doing so. She closed in the distance between them and struck in a mad rage, some of her attacks being deflected only making her strike at a greater speed.

Kamui twirled the lance, pushing Peri back to the wall, but her opponent didn’t care and used said wall as a step to jump overhead and strike Kamui on her side.

She gritted her teeth in pain, feeling something break in her ribcage, but managed to twirl her lance and throw the sword on the floor once again. Losing her weapon wasn’t enough to make Peri flinch and Kamui saw in her eyes that she would go down in a fist fight if needed.

Before she could, however, Kamui took a step back to get impulse and stuck the back of her lance on Peri’s diaphragm, making her instantly lose consciousness.

Her concentration on the fight was so great only by finally watching her opponent fall did Kamui hear the roar of the audience. “The Murder Doll lost!” Some yelled. “She defeated the Murder Doll!” Other screamed. Kamui shook her head and looked up to the hooded men she saw before the match, her insides throbbing with discomfort.

 

“Richard.” One of the men said, scanning the area for a seat and moving towards it. The other man followed closely, clearly displeased in being there.

“Yes, my lord? Are we done?” He groaned as he watched his liege sit down; they were on their way out before the previous fight, but something caught his prince’s eyes and they stood there watching the entire spectacle.

Under his hood, the prince pointed to the winner as she excused herself into the gate to wait for the next fight. “Who is that girl?”

The dark-haired man sighed and followed Xander’s finger to the stage, finding only the defeated woman as she was being carried out by the medics. “The Murder Doll, milord? Her name is–”

“The winner, Richard. That ‘Kamui’ girl.” Xander gestured for his retainer to come closer. Richard knelt beside his lord’s chair, his face bitter in displeasure. “That last attack broke at least one rib, but she managed to twirl her lance and deal a blow strong enough to knock her opponent out. How will she fight the next battle, however? Healing between matches is forbidden.”

Unamused, Richard scanned the arena with his clear-blue eyes, the side tail he tied his hair with itching his neck inside that godforsaken sultry place. “I’m presuming we’ll stay, after all?” He sagged his shoulders in defeat and sat on the ground beside his lord. Xander let out a chuckle and thanked his retainer for the patience.

 

The next fight was the final round and Kamui was already aware who her next opponent was going to be: Her brother Silas.

Indeed, when both gates opened at the same time, she met her brother’s eyes with a smile across the arena, nodding in acceptance. They both chose the lance to fight with.

She breathed in with mild effort, her broken rib certainly a handicap against her gifted brother, but not a definite loss yet. The bell to start the battle rang, but both of them stayed in their positions; they knew each other too well to start the match blindly. The audience felt the tension between them and stayed silent in a nervous anticipation.

“Good luck to you, brother!” She raised her chin in defiance, act which he responded with a side smile.

“May the best soldier win, Sister.” He whispered, taking a step towards her.

From his seat, Xander narrowed his eyes at the interchange. “Did the Lantanoir household have a daughter I am not aware of, Richard?” He asked without taking his eyes off the siblings.

The black-haired man lazily looked at the arena, then glanced at his liege under his hand whose arm was resting on his knee. “I couldn’t say, milord. I did hear about them having a lady of age inside their manor, but she never made a public appearance. Would you like me to look into it?” He asked without hiding his dissatisfaction.

“I would.” Xander replied at the same time Kamui risked a feint attack to Silas’ right, which he easily deflected with his lance. Their lances were close enough for their tips to touch, now. “You seem displeased, friend, and I will not condemn you for doing so.” The prince spoke without taking his eyes off the fight. “However, it’s been too long since you’ve served me on your own – I need someone to share your burden after…” He let his voice trail towards an uncomfortable silence.

Richard’s partner had been killed on duty half year ago and, ever since, he’d taken the burden of being the Crown Prince’s sole retainer. The man grimaced and nodded. “Whatever you say, my lord.” He replied bitterly. “You’re not thinking of taking whoever wins this, are you?” He risked, glancing once again at his prince.

“Hm…” Xander watched as Silas took the upper hand by thrusting constantly, giving Kamui the trouble of deflecting and dodging as she circled the arena, avoiding the wall. “Have you seen how she fights?” He raised his chin to the pointy-eared woman, who had deflected yet another thrust, but now twirled around her brother to stand behind him.

Richard narrowed his eyes at Kamui. “By deceiving and back-stabbing? She jumps around as though she doesn’t know where to strike.” He pursed his lips. Xander chuckled.

“Swift, Richard! Look at the control she has over her weapon and body – she knows her technique isn’t the best, but her stamina! She outmaneuvers her opponents and deals strong blows – stronger than she looks able to.” Xander moved in his seat, enthralled of how she almost danced while she fought. “And behold,” he extended his hand to the blow Kamui took to her broken rib, “she stands her ground even under her serious wounds–”

“Habit of which should be trained and erased completely, if I might be blunt, my lord. A soldier in less than top shape cannot fight a war pretending to be so.”

“Ah, yes, Richard. But do you see? Under conditions of extreme need, she would stand her ground and fight beside her liege or cause, regardless of wounds or who she would be fighting against.”

Before the royal retainer could retort, the audience gasped as Kamui took the upper hand and managed to twirl around her brother, dealing countless blows around his body.

“What’s wrong, Brother? Not pulling any punches on me, I hope?” She taunted, smiling. A smear of blood left the corner of her mouth, certainly from her rib wound worsening inside of her.

“Youthful arrogance.” Richard shook his head as Xander’s smirk widened.

“I expect that report on her later this evening, Richard. I will busy myself with writing an invitation for the Lantanoir regarding their attendance to the next royal ball.”

Richard sighed, resigned on obeying and already planning on how to come up with a training regimen for that girl. “Yes, my lord.”


End file.
